A Very Unexpected Journey
by People Person I'm Not
Summary: When a strange man knocks on Bilbo's door, the journey to reclaim Erebor turns out very differently.
1. Chapter 1

**New story! I saw the picture I'm using as the cover first, and based this off that. I'm not sure about my characterization of the Doctor, but...enjoy anyway.**

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Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End was a very respectable hobbit who didn't like surprises. Much to his dismay, he was now dealing with a very large one—a gathering of dwarves, seemingly spearheaded by Gandalf. The rowdy gathering had calmed down greatly once Thorin had gotten there, but they had still eaten Bilbo out of house and home.

The bell rang yet again, and Bilbo looked at the assembled dwarves. "Are…you expecting any more?"

Thorin shook his head. "All who would come are here."

Bilbo furrowed his brow, but headed towards the door. When he opened it, a strange man, one of the Big People, stood there.

"Uh…hullo," the man said. "I seem to have gotten a tad bit lost. Can you tell me where I am?"

"You're in the Shire," Bilbo told him shortly.

Gandalf appeared behind Bilbo. "Who is it?"

"I don't know," Bilbo replied.

"Well, invite him in," Gandalf said.

Bilbo blinked in surprise but moved aside to let the man into his house.

The dwarves looked at the man as he entered. He was dressed in clothes they had never seen before, and his hair flopped oddly across his face.

Gandalf looked at the man. "My name is Gandalf the Grey, this is Bilbo Baggins, and these are Dwalin, Balin, Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Dori, Nori, Ori, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, and Thorin Oakenshield. Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor," the man said, straightening an absurd-looking bow at his neck.

"What is that?" Ori asked.

"It's a bow tie," the Doctor said. "Bow ties are cool."

Thorin looked dubious. "The Doctor? What kind of a name is that?"

"Mine."

"Doctor who?" Gandalf asked.

The Doctor smiled. "The question that can never be answered."

"Enough about his name," Thorin said. "How did you get here?"

The Doctor's eyes went wide. "My ship…"

He dashed out the door, Gandalf, Bilbo, and all the dwarves following him.

When they reached the garden, Bilbo nearly fainted. There was a large blue box sitting in the middle of his garden. The Doctor disappeared inside, and the others just stood and stared at the box. A few minutes later the Doctor emerged, looking concerned.

"It will take me a few hours to fix," he said. "Do you want to come in while I do?" He vanished back inside, then poked his head out. "If you do come in, don't touch anything."

Thorin and Gandalf looked at each other, then led the group in.

"It's bigger on the inside!" Bilbo said in surprise.

"I never get tired of hearing that," the Doctor said happily.

"What _is_ this?" Gandalf asked.

"It's my TARDIS. That's time and relative dimension in space. I travel through time and space in it."

"Through time?" Thorin demanded, looking thoughtful.

The Doctor nodded, looking concerned. He was chewing slightly on his lip, brow furrowed.

"Could we go back and prevent Smaug from taking Erebor?"

At Thorin's question the company of dwarves came alive, discussing with excitement the possibily.

"No." The single word quieted the group, who turned to stare at the Doctor. "It would create a paradox. That's _bad_."

The dwarves looked crestfallen. They had so hoped to reclaim their home before it had even been taken. Their just blossoming hopes had been dashed before they even had a chance to fully bloom.

The Doctor was fiddling around with parts of the TARDIS, the strange contraption he was holding glowing green.

Sparks flew, and an hour or two later the Doctor finally cried, "Done!"

"What does it do?" Thorin asked cautiously. "I mean, does it actually work?"

The Doctor grinned and pressed a few buttons. The machine made an odd noise—sort of a dull roar—and the Company looked alarmed.

"Is it supposed to do that?" Bilbo asked, voice trembling.

"Yes…" the Doctor said. "Well, technically no, but it did it for 900-ish years, and there were no problems. I apparently leave the brakes on. It's a brilliant noise. I love that noise." He looked at Thorin. "Take a look outside."

Thorin poked his head out the TARDIS door, and pulled it back rapidly. "Mahal."

The Doctor laughed delightedly. "It works." The other dwarves, Bilbo, and Gandalf, copied both Thorin's actions, and more or less, his words.

The Doctor pressed buttons again, and then they were back in Bilbo's garden.


	2. Chapter 2

**I know, I know...it's really short. Sorry...I couldn't think of anything else to add. And there's bad news...I can really only post at school. School is almost over. I promise to keep writing, and update whenever I can, though! Thanks to Music-Maniac-At-18, superwhocumberlocked, CrShock, kaitamis, Pergjithshme, Purple 'N' Blue Wings, Sakurayuuki, and 123petmaster for reviewing!**

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The dwarves, Bilbo, Gandalf, and the Doctor sat around Bilbo's dining room table, Thorin standing at the head. "The time is right to reclaim Erebor," Thorin said, and the dwarves cheered. "It will be risky, but it must be done."

The Doctor raised his hand. "Why is is so important to reclaim Erebor, even though it is, as you say, risky?"

"Erebor is our homeland," Thorin said.

"Okay..." replied the Doctor. "So why must you 'reclaim' it? What happened?"

"Smaug the terrible took it over," Bofur cut in. "The chiefest and greatest calamity of our time."

"My grandfather was King Under the Mountain," Thorin said quietly. "He got gold-fever, collected as much of it as he could. Dragons have a nose for treasure, and they will take what they want. Smaug, a firedrake from the north, a dragon, came to Erebor, and drove us out. We had no defense."

The Doctor nodded. "I understand that, reclaiming your home. Mine is lost forever."

"What happened to your home?" Bilbo asked.

The Doctor looked down. "There was a war, between my people and these creatures called the Daleks, the Time War. We effectively lost. I can never truly return to Gallifrey."

The dwarves were silent. They understood the loss of a home, but to never be able to go back was beyond them. They at least could reclaim Erebor. It seemed there was nothing the Doctor could do to get back this Gallifrey he had mentioned.


End file.
